Falling in the Black
by Selene's Phantom
Summary: Sora's at a loss, his friends are in danger and he doesn't know how to help. That is until Maleficent comes along and offers her assistance... for a steep price. Will Riku and Kairi be able to rescue their friend from that all-encompassing darkness?
1. Last Breath

_**Falling in the Black**_

_Selene's Phantom_

**Summary:** Sora's at a loss, his friends are in danger and he doesn't know how to help. That is until Maleficent comes along and offers him her assistance… for a steep price. Will Riku and Kairi be able to rescue their friend from that all-encompassing darkness?

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! I am merely playing with other people's toys, using them in my own twisted games. Anything you recognize most probably belongs to somebody else, except the plots, those are mine.

**Dialogue Key:**

"Blah…" – Talking

_Blah…_ - Thoughts, emphasis, writing/e-mails, flashbacks/dreams

**Additional Notes:** The story will follow the games to a point but there will be certain changes.

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue:<strong>

_Last Breath_

The quiet that filled the chapel was more than a little unsettling, he mused to himself as he slowly rose up the stairs. He wasn't quite at the top yet but already he could see what awaited him on the center platform.

The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he noticed the black Key lying in the middle, waiting to be used by him. A shudder racked his small frame as he considered how she had orchestrated this whole thing and manipulated him in such a way that, even though he _knew_ it was all her fault, he couldn't back out.

With cautious steps he wound his way up the stairwell and onto the round stage where he took his place beside the Key. He stooped down to pick it up and as he did he looked down from his perch where he could just make out three figures wreathed in shadows.

Blue orbs blinked rapidly to ward off the coming tears. "You promise?" He croaked out past a tight throat, his hand unconsciously gripping the blade in his hands even tighter seeking a comfort it couldn't offer.

The shadows flickered in an almost aggravated manner as he spoke out of turn but their wielder addressed him anyways. "Yes boy, I gave you my word." He bit his lip at the almost mocking tone that acknowledged him but said nothing.

This was it.

This was the end.

He took a slow, deep breath, changed his grip on the blade and raised it to chest level with some measure of awkwardness. As he exhaled the key plunged forward and he closed his eyes.

Light rushed across his limited vision before it was swept away in shadows. He could feel himself slipping, falling backwards, but he couldn't put forth the effort to break his fall. In the background a sinister laugh echoed throughout the chapel before he lost all sense of the world.

_Sorry guys, looks like it's all up to you now…_

* * *

><p>And so it begins! I know it's short but it's just the prologue, I plan for the next chapters to be longer by several pages... I'm anxious to hear what you all think so if you wouldn't mind clicking that little button below and leaving me a review, it would be much appreciated.<p>

One last thing to note, there's a poll on my profile that lets you decide in what order a story gets updated. The one with the most votes after two weeks will be the first updated, three to five days later the runner up will be updated and so on…

Happy reading,

_Selene's Phantom_

_Next Chapter:  
><em>**Chapter** **1: **_Rebirth_


	2. Rebirth

_**Falling in the Black**_

_Selene's Phantom_

**Summary:** Sora's at a loss, his friends are in danger and he doesn't know how to help. That is until Maleficent comes along and offers him her assistance… for a steep price. Will Riku and Kairi be able to rescue their friend from that all-encompassing darkness?

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! I am merely playing with other people's toys, using them in my own twisted games. Anything you recognize most probably belongs to somebody else, except the plots, those are mine.

**Dialogue Key:**

"Blah…" – Talking

_Blah…_ - Thoughts, emphasis, writing/e-mails, flashbacks/dreams

**Additional Notes:** The story will follow the games to a point but there will be certain changes.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1:<strong>

_Rebirth_

It felt like days had passed since he found himself swallowed in this vast nothingness. Darkness pervaded his every sense denying him any comfort beyond the cold abyss he had found himself in.

He glared, somewhat weakly, at his surroundings but it never responded. It was the same as it had been in the beginning. The moment he found himself trapped in here he had fought against his fate, railed against the unfairness of it all. But the darkness had taken his fit of rage and hatred, his fear, taken it all and enfolded it away forever out of sight and out of mind.

_So, this is it then, huh?_

_This is what everything comes down to?_

Blue eyes, dark with an unbridled fury at his own helplessness, raked across the dark realm searching for anything -_anything!_- that he could use in a last ditch effort to break free.

When nothing became readily apparent he bit back the urge to scream. It was infuriating how absolutely _powerless_ he had become as soon as he was deemed useless to her cause. The second she grew tired of him she cast him aside to be overtaken by her daunting shadows.

What was even more frustrating for him though, was that he had fallen for her whispered promises of power. He had taken the bait she had stuck so obviously in front of him and let her reel him in. He never even got to use the power he was promised for the main reasons he wanted it in the first place.

Spiky brown hair and long red locks covering matching sapphire blue eyes filled his vision for all of a second before it faded away into the darkness again.

_Sora…_

_Kairi…_

_I'm sorry._

His eyes slipped closed, resigned to the fate he had allowed himself to fall into. But the second he turned his head Light _flared_ to life, pushing back the darkness with a fierce tenacity before fully encircling the fourteen year old, protecting him.

_It's not over 'til I say it's over!_

He gasped as the light seemed to pulse, releasing an all-encompassing wave to sweep away the darkness, forcing him to shut his eyes so he wouldn't be blinded.

When he opened his eyes once more he found himself lying on a red-dressed bed in a room he had never before seen in his life.

Wide-eyed in surprise he sat up with the intent to get a better look of his surroundings only to drop back onto the goose-feathered pillows once more when a wave of dizziness and fatigue swept over him.

_Was it all a dream?_

He stared at the crimson sheer curtains that partially hid his face from the red-painted door silently contemplating the chances that everything was just a very realistic dream. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice when the door opened and admitted three short figures.

"Riku?"

It took a matter of seconds to focus on the outside world and a little longer to register what exactly he was seeing in front of him.

Out of the three figures waiting at the foot of his bed only one was really familiar to him.

In the middle stood Kairi giving him a look of faint concern with her wide blue eyes.

To her left stood a duck he recognized as a companion to Sora, Donald, if memory served him right. The Wizard watched him warily, clearly not sure whether he could trust the teen laying on the bed or not.

He didn't blame him.

On her right stood Goofy, who was a Knight and friend of Donald's. Unlike his partner he trusted far more easily and instead gazed at the exhausted teen with obvious worry.

_So, not a dream then…_ He thought with a faint chuckle. Tuning in to the real world once again he sat up, more slowly this time, and faced the trio with narrowed eyes.

"Where's Sora?"

Donald and Goofy flinched while Kairi simply shook her head. Riku spared Kairi a gentle smile before turning his gaze fully on the Disney Court members.

The duo traded a nervous look before Goofy spoke up, slightly baffled. "Gawrsh, the last thing we knew we were in Hollow Bastion trying to track you down," He looked down in guilt as he continued to list what he knew about Sora. "When… well, when you wielded the Keyblade we followed you and left Sora."

Riku let out a low hiss as he realized that he had left his best friend without any protection in a world that was teeming with Heartless.

Kairi spared him a questioning glance but didn't comment, choosing instead to continue interrogating the pair. "So, what happened then?"

Donald picked up where Goofy had left off with a nervous chuckle, "We made it as far as the library," He explained with wild, unnecessary gestures, his wand nearly hitting the girl once or twice in his enthusiasm, "and then we were here!"

Riku and Kairi frowned, glancing at each other with confusion. "That's it?"

Donald nodded but Goofy stood in a classic thinking pose, one hand holding his head, as he thought hard about what had happened in the library.

"There was this Light." He mumbled low enough to almost go unheard. When he looked up he found himself under the scrutinizing stares of the two teenagers and so he decided to elaborate, "It was white and it swallowed us. When it faded we were here." He shrugged, at a loss to explain it any more than that.

The islanders shared a Look. "If we're all here…" Kairi started, confusion laced in her words.

"Then where's Sora?" Riku finished, just barely ignoring the feeling of dread that curled in his stomach.

Metal on wood gave a resounding thud as a pointed kunai, the favored weapon of the great ninja Yuffie, drove into the table.

"I'm telling you, there's something really fishy about all of this!" She exclaimed in a huff, glaring at the blue vase in front of her that blocked her vision of the door and the man who leaned against it.

Squall Leonhart released a near silent huff of annoyance as he rolled his eyes, they had covered this subject no less than six times since Kairi had collapsed into the Blue Room that morning with an unconscious Riku hanging over her shoulder.

If he had known she would obsess over it like she was he would have left Aerith or Cid to deal with her instead.

_Too late now…_ He mused, a flicker of amusement brushing aside his annoyance.

With a sigh he pushed himself up from his post and walked past the sixteen year old to enter the Red Room and check on his newest charges, but not before poking the girl between her eyes. Her indignant squawk was more than enough payback to satisfy him.

Two steps into the adjoining room though and his satisfaction was swept away, buried under the heavy air of worry the four occupants of the room shared. He took a moment to study the teen still sitting on the bed before he turned and shut the door behind him.

"We haven't seen Sora in any of the districts." He informed them all with a quiet bluntness, never once shifting his gaze from Riku. "Cid is looking around Merlin's place and Aerith is checking out the passage but," He shook his head, "We're not expecting to find much."

He could almost feel the disappointment the others gave off but he didn't let that affect him, after all it wasn't his fault.

"That doesn't mean he's not on other worlds though." A soft voice interrupted as the door from the hall creaked open to reveal Aerith with Cid standing at her shoulder.

"He may not be here," She moved into the room and sat by Riku, giving him a quick onceover before continuing on, "but you shouldn't automatically assume he's not on another world."

"And if he is," Cid broke in with a sniff, "he's probably stranded." He turned his head to the side, chewing on his ever present toothpick, "the _Highwind_ is here, so he doesn't have a Gummi Ship to get him elsewhere."

Kairi allowed her head to tilt to the side in question, eyes bright with renewed hope, "Which means… we have to go looking for him, right?"

Riku grabbed one of her hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze, "We will find him," He told her, confident in that much at least. As he watched her relax, even just a bit, Riku decided not to voice his own fears on the matter.

They would find him, that much was a given, anything after that… Well, they'd deal with it when it came.

Kairi's grip on his hand tightened for a brief moment, giving him some added strength before she turned, pulling her hand free as she did, to look at Sora's friends.

"Obviously, Riku and I are going to look for him…" She paused looking them all over, "Who else is coming with us?"

Goofy and Donald both shared a look before they nodded and turned back to the Islanders, "We'll go!" Donald quacked, raising his wand in an "onward" gesture. Nobody argued.

* * *

><p>And here we have an update, specially requested by KlutzyKat for her birthday! Happy Birthday~!<p>

Now that this has been posted we'll return to my normal update schedule which means next up is Chaining Intentions! I won't make any promises but it should be up within the next two days or so… hopefully…

Happy reading,

_Selene's Phantom_

_Next chapter:_

**Chapter 2:** _Riddle Me This_


End file.
